The liberty movement has stroked the root; as opposed to the Tea Party and Occupy, which have largely been trimming the branches. It is not just “big government” that is a threat to liberty, but all forms of initiated coercion.
In the last few years, we have witnessed the rise of several protest groups and organizations that have made their voices heard in the public and in the media. On the left, there is the Occupy Movement, on the right, there is the Tea Party.
There is also a self-described “liberty movement,” with strong libertarian convictions and influenced by the presidential candidacy and ideas of Ron Paul. Although both the Occupy Movement and the Tea Party highlight legitimate grievances, both groups have obvious inconsistencies and shortcomings. The more principled and focused liberty movement will undoubtedly have the biggest effect on public debate and long-term political trends.
The Tea (Taxed Enough Already) Party was officially started on November 5, 2007, when then presidential candidate Ron Paul held his first “money bomb,” raising of over $4 million (which, at the time, was the most money ever raised by a political candidate in one day). The Tea Party began as a grassroots group of frustrated libertarians and paleo-conservatives, angry at the Republicans for their spending, deficits, and debts, the loss of civil liberties, and military interventionism overseas. As it grew, however, the movement soon began to be co-opted by mainstream Republican politicians and pundits, and combined with the election of President Obama, took a much more partisan turn.
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